| Voice of America | - |
Japanese
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the rocky relationship between Japan and
China is comparable to that of Germany and Britain before World War
One.
Abe: China-Japan Ties 'Similar' to Britain and Germany Before WWI
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January 23, 2014
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the rocky relationship between
Japan and China is comparable to that of Germany and Britain before
World War I.
Abe's comments came while he was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. His spokesman later denied that the prime minister thinks war is inevitable between the two Asian powers.
Tokyo and Beijing have long shared a fraught past, but ties have been especially strained because of a worsening territorial dispute and mutual concerns over each other's military intentions.
The two countries also share strong economic ties, leading many analysts to conclude that an outbreak of hostilities is unlikely.
Speaking to journalists in Davos on Wednesday, Prime Minister Abe pointed out that close economic relations did not prevent Britain and Germany from going to war in 1914.
Abe also criticized China's increase in military spending as a provocation. He said trust was essential to preventing conflict, suggesting greater military-to-military communication could help.
The Japanese government's top spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said Thursday that Abe's comments should not be viewed as evidence he believes the two countries are headed for war.
In a later keynote speech, Abe warned military expansion in Asia must be restrained and said disputes should be solved through dialogue and not through coercion.
His speech did not specifically mention China by name, but the comments were in line with Abe's previous statements condemning China's increasingly assertive military behavior.
Last year, Beijing set up an Air Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea, where China and Japan both claim a series of uninhabited but strategic islands.
Japan, along with its ally the United States and South Korea, have rejected the ADIZ as a unilateral provocation, and claim it has heightened regional tensions.
The islands, known in Japan as Senkaku and in China as Diaoyu, have been under Japanese control since 1971. However, in recent months, a steady stream of Chinese patrol ships has attempted to change the status quo.
Beijing says tensions were only raised after Japan effectively nationalized some of the islands in 2012, buying them from their private Japanese owner.
China also reacted furiously to Prime Minister Abe's recent visit to a Tokyo shrine that many Chinese view as a symbol of Japan's military adventures in Asia.
On Wednesday, Abe defended his visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, saying it honors millions of dead Japanese soldiers, and not just war criminals.
Abe's comments came while he was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. His spokesman later denied that the prime minister thinks war is inevitable between the two Asian powers.
Tokyo and Beijing have long shared a fraught past, but ties have been especially strained because of a worsening territorial dispute and mutual concerns over each other's military intentions.
The two countries also share strong economic ties, leading many analysts to conclude that an outbreak of hostilities is unlikely.
Speaking to journalists in Davos on Wednesday, Prime Minister Abe pointed out that close economic relations did not prevent Britain and Germany from going to war in 1914.
Abe also criticized China's increase in military spending as a provocation. He said trust was essential to preventing conflict, suggesting greater military-to-military communication could help.
The Japanese government's top spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said Thursday that Abe's comments should not be viewed as evidence he believes the two countries are headed for war.
In a later keynote speech, Abe warned military expansion in Asia must be restrained and said disputes should be solved through dialogue and not through coercion.
His speech did not specifically mention China by name, but the comments were in line with Abe's previous statements condemning China's increasingly assertive military behavior.
Last year, Beijing set up an Air Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea, where China and Japan both claim a series of uninhabited but strategic islands.
Japan, along with its ally the United States and South Korea, have rejected the ADIZ as a unilateral provocation, and claim it has heightened regional tensions.
The islands, known in Japan as Senkaku and in China as Diaoyu, have been under Japanese control since 1971. However, in recent months, a steady stream of Chinese patrol ships has attempted to change the status quo.
Beijing says tensions were only raised after Japan effectively nationalized some of the islands in 2012, buying them from their private Japanese owner.
China also reacted furiously to Prime Minister Abe's recent visit to a Tokyo shrine that many Chinese view as a symbol of Japan's military adventures in Asia.
On Wednesday, Abe defended his visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, saying it honors millions of dead Japanese soldiers, and not just war criminals.
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